What are common injuries in slip-and-fall accidents?

Slip and fall injuries can occur due to a spill on a grocery store floor, uneven pavement in a parking lot or torn carpeting in a hotel, among a myriad of other causes. Some people in Pennsylvania are lucky enough to walk away from such incidents without much more than a bruised ego. However, other people suffer serious injuries in slip-and-fall accidents.

One type of slip-and-fall injury are soft tissue injuries such as sprains, torn ligaments and torn tendons. Sometimes, people do not realize they have these injuries until days or even weeks after the incident occurred.

Another common slip and fall injury are head injuries. Even minor head injuries need medical attention. Sometimes a minor concussion will only last a few days or weeks. However, a more serious traumatic brain injury can cause permanent damage. Like soft tissue injuries, the severity of a head injury is not always immediately apparent.

Some people suffer spinal cord injuries in slip-and fall-accidents. This happens when the spinal cord is compressed or severed. A spinal cord injury can be deadly, and those who survive generally need a significant amount of ongoing treatment. They are also very expensive injuries, with victims racking up millions of dollars in expenses in the first 12 months following the injury.

Finally, people can break a bone in a slip-and-fall accident. While some fractures are minor, others are quite serious, necessitating surgery and long-term therapy. Broken bones can also lead to extensive swelling and bleeding.

In the end, when a person is involved in a slip-and-fall accident and suffers an injury, it could take a long time and a lot of money to recover, and sometimes a full recovery proves to be impossible. In such situations, it is important to determine if the property owner met their duty of care towards the victim. If the property owner knew there was a dangerous condition on their property and did nothing to warn of the condition or remedy it, it may be possible to pursue a premises liability claim. Attorneys can advise as to whether a premises liability claim is viable in their client's specific situation.

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